The women’s Olympics 2024 Group B teams consist of the United States, Zambia, Germany and Australia, some of the heaviest hitters at the tournament.
Unlike the mens’ Olympic football tournament, which has a focus on youth development and a maximum of three players over the age of 23, the women’s tournament has no such restrictions, and will see all four of these nations at full strength.
There are only three groups at this tournament, so the two best-performing third-placed sides also sneak into the knockout stages.
Women's Olympics 2024 Group B predictions
Group winners – United States
We back The Stars and Stripes to bounce back from their 2023 World Cup disappointment in style, with new manager Emma Hayes leading the Americans into a new era.
The USWNT are Olympic royalty. Their four gold medals are more than all other winners combined have accrued.
They also possess a star-studded attack, with five players having scored 19 or more goals for their nation, including Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Lindsay Horan.
They have looked solid at the back of late too, with back-to-back clean sheets in their pre-tournament warm-up games. Arsenal’s Emily Fox is among their defenders, as well as 91-cap stalwart Emily Sonnett.
The Stars and Stripes have not won the women’s Olympic football tournament since 2012. Emma Hayes will be keen to put that right early in her tenure, and we expect them to top this tough group.
Runners-up – Germany
In second place, we expect Germany to bounce back from their own disappointing World Cup campaign, and pip Australia to automatic qualification.
Die Frauenteam won the games in 2016, and star striker Alexandra Popp will look to draw on that experience, imparting it to her younger teammates.
33-year-old Popp is captaining her nation, and ranks third for all-time goals for the German women’s side.
She is far from the only star, however. Bayern Munich duo Lea Schuller and Lena Oberdorf are incredible players in their own right, with the latter being a member of FIFA’s most recent women’s team of the year.
A true powerhouse of women’s football, with a whopping eight European Championships and two World Cups since 1989, Die Frauenteam will once again be a force to be reckoned with this summer.
Third-place – Australia
Australia have consistently produced some of the top talents in women’s football, and The Matildas have a huge following at home, arguably greater than their men’s side.
Premier League stars litter the Australian squad. Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord are both Arsenal regulars, Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy are fresh from a title-winning campaign with Manchester City, and Ellie Carpenter has cemented herself as one of the best defenders in the world at Olympique Lyonnais.
But there is one name, conspicuous by its absence, that will not be present at the tournament – Sam Kerr.
The Chelsea superstar striker is the heart of her side, and is by some distance Australia’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals. But the 30-year-old will miss out on the Olympics, on account of the heartbreaking ACL injury she suffered in January.
The Aussies will push Germany hard, but we expect them to fall just short. There is still a strong possibility they will escape the group though, as one of the best performing third-placed sides.
Fourth-place – Zambia
Zambia have been dealt a cruel hand this tournament, and have landed in a ludicrously challenging group.
The Copper Queens are an emerging power in women’s football, qualifying for their first World Cup last summer, and reaching the Olympics for the first time at Tokyo 2020. They also got their first podium finish in 2022, with a third-placed run at the Africa Cup of Nations.
They have a talented squad too – Racheal Kundananji and Grace Chanda have both lit up the Spanish top flight in recent years with their attacking displays.
In addition, 24-year-old striker Barbra Banda has scored an astonishing 53 goals in 60 games for her country, and has become the second-most expensive player in NWSL history following her $740,000 move to Orlando Pride this summer.
Zambia have plenty going forward, but have shipped a worrying 19 goals in their last six matches. The Copper Queens have a bright future, but this group might just have come a little too early for them.
Group B Winners – Potential quarter final opponents
Should our predictions be correct, the USA, as group winners, would face the second-placed side from Group C. World Champions Spain are clearly the strongest team in that group and will likely top it, but Brazil or Japan could present a potential banana skin for the Stars and Stripes.
Germany would face the runners-up of Group A, which could potentially set-up a high-stakes clash with hosts, rivals and neighbours France, should they fail to top a very strong Canadian side.
Australia will feel confident they can place as one of the two best third-placed sides, and secure progression to a fifth successive knockout stage at the Olympics. Things could get trickier from there, however, as they will face the winners of Group A, likely either France or Canada.
